New electronic components will change lives in 2014

These recent breakthroughs in electrical component technology are likely to have a significant impact on the electronics industry – and on people’s everyday lives.

Graphene – Latest News for Revolutionary Material

(Courtesy: A Zettl)

Your’e probably aware of the superstar conductor of the future, Graphene: “A wonder material that is the world’s thinnest, strongest and most conductive material with the potential to revolutionise diverse applications; from smartphones and ultrafast broadband to drug delivery and computer chips”.

… here are some industry breakthroughs that may not yet be on your radar:

Lithium-ion batteries could be enhanced by a new electrode that uses graphene-coated vanadium oxide ribbons. The ribbons are thousands of times thinner than a sheet of paper but have the potential to accelerate development of major applications such as electric cars. Cathodes built into half-cells for testing at Rice University, Texas, fully charged and discharged in 20 seconds and retained more than 90 percent of their initial capacity after more than 1,000 cycles.

Grapheme Silicon Additive Extends Battery Life…and in similar news,a new graphene-silicon additive for lithium-ion batterieshas just been released for commercial sale. The graphene nanoplatelets increase lithium-ion battery life by four times the current standard and will substantially extend battery lifespan. The breakthrough will likely lead to portable electronic devices becoming lighter and smaller, and should prove useful in the continuing developments in the electric vehicle industry.

A recent energy harvesting discovery could use marine bacteria to generate electricity.An electrical current can be generated when proteins on the surface of the bacteria Shewanella oneidensis come into contact with a mineral surface. Findings of the research, conducted at the University of East Anglia, indicate that bacteria can be ‘tethered’ to electrodes by lying directly on a metal or mineral surface to create a form of biobattery. The team synthesised a version of the bacteria for use during the experiments.

Lead researcher Dr Tom Clarke from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, said: “These bacteria show great potential as microbial fuel cells, where electricity can be generated from the breakdown of domestic or agricultural waste products”.

“Another possibility is to use these bacteria as miniature factories on the surface of an electrode, where chemicals reactions take place inside the cell using electrical power supplied by the electrode through these proteins.”

Next–Gen Medical Electronic Devices

The future is looking healthy thanks to a number of recent breakthroughs in the medical electronics industry…